Tatum, Hill talk about '22 Jump'

By JAKE COYLEAssociated Press

June 13, 2014 12:01 AM

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum attend the after party for the premiere of Columbia Pictures' '22 Jump Street' at the W Hotel on June 10, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)Invision

By JAKE COYLEAssociated Press

June 13, 2014 12:01 AM

The comic duo of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill began with an intentionally bad idea.

Hill called up Tatum: "So I have this probably terrible idea, but I want to see if you're interested," he said. Adapting the 1980s TV show "21 Jump Street" was the pitch, and Tatum couldn't resist Hill's anti-sell.

The movie, a sendup of TV show adaptations while at the same time being one, was a hit. Now, Hill and Tatum are back today with "22 Jump Street."

Hill and Tatum recently reflected on their partnership in parody.

Q Did you know that you've have such good chemistry?

Hill: I think we got lucky. We knew we would get along, but also the way we interact is funny.

Tatum: I definitely went into this with zero ego. I was very insecure about trying to go do a comedy. I was just sort of like: "Tell me what to do."

Q In the time you've been making the "Jump Street" movies, your careers have both exploded.

Tatum: When Jonah got nominated for "The Wolf of Wall Street," I felt like I got nominated. I was like, "Yes!"

Q Following the video that showed Hill calling a paparazzo a gay slur, what was that week like?

Hill: It's been the most difficult weeks of my life, without any question. I'm someone who beats themselves up for their mistakes in life. I don't want to keep giving a watered down apology because what I said on "Jimmy Fallon" was from my heart and what I wanted to get out there. But there is a silver lining to it if people who are young and fans of mine hear me say, "Use me as an example of what not to do."

Tatum: Knowing him, it's frustrating. Jonah's such a thoughtful person. Even when we're on set and improvising and it starts skirting around anything racist or bigoted, he's like, "I'm going to stop this before we go into any offensive territory."

Q How did the end credits sequence of fake "Jump Street" sequels come about?

Hill: We were screening the movie and it was testing really well and the audience was responding really well to it. We were sitting around going, "The movie plays great. I wish there was one more thing to send people off with a great feeling." One last jab at ourselves, too. One more: "We suck."